Georgia Freezes Assessed Values

With property taxes being such a hot topic in South Carolina, I thought I would include what our neighbors to the south are doing regarding property taxes.

Property owners throughout Georgia will not see their assessed values increase for the next three years. The Georgia General Assembly approved House Bill 233 and the bill was signed into law by Governor Sonny Purdue.

As the bill explains, “The General Assembly finds that the citizens and property owners of this state are experiencing a crisis in the reduction of value of tangible property of unprecedented magnitude and that it is in the best interests of this state that immediate action be taken to secure the economic stability of all Georgians.”

The 3-year moratorium on assessment increases is effective for all property classes. However, it does not apply to the assessment of new buildings or improvements to current properties. Additions or improvements will be assessed at fair market value. The law will automatically be repealed on the second Monday in January, 2011.

Even though assessed values will not increase, this is not a property tax freeze. Local jurisdictions can still raise their tax rates. The City of Atlanta has already voted to raise tax rates by 42% and more jurisdictions may follow suit.

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Welcome to the South Carolina Real Estate News website. Every day, newspapers and periodicals publish articles that are of value to real estate professionals - for nine years now, we have provided a simple place to access this news. Over 500,000 visitors have found it a good source of information. Additional statistical data and property value trends will be presented from various sources. My appraisal firm, Integra Realty Resources - Columbia provides commercial appraisals in Columbia, Greenville, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Aiken, Florence and other areas of the Carolinas.